WEBVTT - Can picking a movie theater get any more complicated?

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to brain Stuff from how Stuff Works dot com

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<v Speaker 1>where smart Happens. Hi'm Marshall Brain with today's question, when

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<v Speaker 1>did it get so complicated to pick a movie theater

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<v Speaker 1>and what is next in the world of movie theater picking.

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<v Speaker 1>A friend of mine invited me to go to a

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<v Speaker 1>movie within this weekend. That sounds simple enough, doesn't it.

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<v Speaker 1>And in the past it was simple. It used to

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<v Speaker 1>be that you went down to the theater and you

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<v Speaker 1>watched the movie. In the movie Back to the Future,

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<v Speaker 1>you can see that world. That's a nineteen fifty five representation,

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<v Speaker 1>and in that movie there is one movie theater in

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<v Speaker 1>town and one movie playing at that movie theater. In

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<v Speaker 1>the case of Back to the Future, the movie is

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<v Speaker 1>Ronald Reagan's Cattle Queen of Montana. So that idea, one

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<v Speaker 1>theater in town, one movie playing. That's the movie you see.

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<v Speaker 1>So it couldn't be simpler. Now, let's look at how

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<v Speaker 1>things have morphed since then. In the United States, in

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<v Speaker 1>the early nineteen sixties, the idea of a two screen

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<v Speaker 1>theater took hold, so at least you had a little

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<v Speaker 1>bit of choice when you went down to the theater. Then,

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<v Speaker 1>during the nineteen seventies, the idea of a multiplex exploded.

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<v Speaker 1>The number of screens per theater mushroomed into the teens

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<v Speaker 1>and then the twenties. By the nineteen nineties, a single

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<v Speaker 1>theater with thirty screens had been built. Then came things

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<v Speaker 1>like Dolby and th X sound systems. If you wanted

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<v Speaker 1>the best experience, you would only go to a certified theater.

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<v Speaker 1>Then came stadium seating. You get a better view with

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<v Speaker 1>the seats in a stadium configuration, and they're a lot

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<v Speaker 1>more comfortable because they're usually padded and they have nice

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<v Speaker 1>arm rests and so on. So now you wouldn't go

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<v Speaker 1>to a theater unless it had th X and comfortable

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<v Speaker 1>stadium seating. Then came digital projection. There's no more scratches

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<v Speaker 1>on the film and no more weird stuff between reels.

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<v Speaker 1>So that became a point that you wanted to have

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<v Speaker 1>if you want to see a movie theater, you wanted

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<v Speaker 1>th h X with a digital projector and stadium seating.

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<v Speaker 1>And now there's three D projection. Some theaters have three

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<v Speaker 1>D projectors, some don't, So if you want to see

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<v Speaker 1>a movie in three D, you need to make sure

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<v Speaker 1>the theater has a three D projector, and now now

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<v Speaker 1>that three D option is morphed as well. There's actually

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<v Speaker 1>three technologies that are used to display three D movies.

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<v Speaker 1>So my friend wants to see the new film, and

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<v Speaker 1>he sends this email which theater near you has three

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<v Speaker 1>D digital projection? And I look up theaters in my

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<v Speaker 1>area and one nearby is actually showing the movie he wants,

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<v Speaker 1>with stadium seating on two separate screens using two different

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<v Speaker 1>three D projection technology. The first is Imax three D

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<v Speaker 1>and the second is Real D three D. So now

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<v Speaker 1>the obvious question is which is better. If you've got

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<v Speaker 1>a choice like that, how do you pick whether you

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<v Speaker 1>want IMAX or real D. I jumped into Google to

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<v Speaker 1>find a review, and the difference seems to be that

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<v Speaker 1>IMAX three D is more of a pop out effect

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<v Speaker 1>where stuff comes out of the screen towards you, and

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<v Speaker 1>real D is a more subtle into the screen effect

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<v Speaker 1>where you can actually see depth rather than being kind

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<v Speaker 1>of shocked when things come out of the screen. Based

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<v Speaker 1>on that review, we chose our show time so that

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<v Speaker 1>we could see it in real D. So now the

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<v Speaker 1>question is what is going to happen next. There's been

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<v Speaker 1>all these different differentiators that have been built into the

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<v Speaker 1>movie theater experience over the last couple of decades. Something

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<v Speaker 1>is going to happen next. What might it be? Be

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